OCR Scanned PDFs — Offline, 100+ Languages
Drop a scanned PDF (the kind that looks like text but is really just an image of text) into MiniMax Converter and pick OCR. The app runs every page through Tesseract OCR locally and produces a searchable, copy-pasteable PDF or a plain-text export. No upload to a cloud service, no API key, no per-page fee.
How to OCR
- Drop a scanned PDF onto MiniMax Converter.
- From the Document More menu, pick OCR PDF.
- Choose the language (auto-detect or one of 100+ specific Tesseract language packs).
- The result is a new PDF with an invisible text layer overlaid on each scanned page — searchable, copy-able, indexable.
Why offline?
Scanned PDFs often contain sensitive material — contracts, medical records, legal documents, old letters. Uploading to a cloud OCR service means handing those over. Tesseract is the same open-source engine the cloud services use under the hood; running it locally gives you the same accuracy without the upload.
Accuracy tips
OCR quality depends on scan quality. 300 DPI is the sweet spot — much lower and characters blur; much higher and you waste compute without gaining accuracy. Black-and-white scans work better than colour for plain text. The app pre-processes pages automatically (deskew, denoise).
Questions and answers
Which languages?
Whatever Tesseract supports (~100 languages). The relevant language pack downloads on first use; subsequent OCR is fully offline.
How does it compare to Adobe Acrobat's OCR?
Comparable for most plain-text documents. Adobe is slightly better on complex layouts (multi-column magazines, etc.); Tesseract is free and offline.
Can I OCR a folder of PDFs?
Yes — drop the folder, the app processes each file in parallel.
Does it preserve the original layout?
Yes — the text layer is positioned so when you select text in a viewer, it tracks the visible characters on the page.
Related tools
Get MiniMax Converter
Cross-platform desktop app. Linux free for non-commercial use; Windows & macOS one-time €20 license. No subscription, no telemetry, no account.